Catherwood LibraryILR School

In a statement released this week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission revealed that workplace discrimination complaints had risen 15 percent in 2008 from the year before, an increase the Commission described as "unprecedented". While the largest number of claims continue to be racial and sexual discrimination claims, the statement cited age discrimination and workplace retaliation claims as having made the biggest increases. While no explanations for the dramatic increase were given, labor rights advocates remain hopeful that recent legislation signed by President Barack Obama will help make employers take discrimination claims more seriously.